Hollow Earth Expedition: Henderson KJ Motorcycles

In 1929, Henderson Motorcycles released their “Streamline” bike — a powerful 1300cc four cylinder machine that allowed the bike to break the 100mph barrier. The KJ Streamline would become popular with police forces for its forgiving nature — as they could run from 8 to 100mph in top gear with no issues. The torque was impressive, allowing them to accelerate and decelerate swiftly. Not content with building one of the most powerful bikes of the time, Hnderson released a “Special” for $30 more with higher compression pistons and a larger carburetor that boosted the machine to 45hp and which hit 116mph on one run.

This concept Streamline that came out of the impending Excelsior-Henderson merger could have been called the first scooter: it rode on 10″ wheels, had a fully-encased chassis, and a different seating position that was uncomfortable for the tall rider. The bike was heavy, a bit unwieldy in turns, and a pain in the ass to maintain:

This one, however, has the most potential for pulpy goodness — of course a masked do-gooder could ride this with a boatload of style…yet no one would put together he’s on one of a handful of these things made. Cops in the 1930s just don’t put that sort of thing together. Or heavily modified, it would be the perfect platform for a “rocket cycle”…if only to do your best Brian Blessed “Flying blind on a rocket cycle!?!”